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Breakthrough Generation
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Since we began, our human rights-based education program has reached more than three million people, resulting in:

Women's Empowerment

19k+
women have been selected into leadership positions in their communities
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Health

3m+
people live in communities that publicly declared an end to female genital cutting
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Child Marriage

7,000+
communities that have publicly declared their daughters will not marry before they are 18
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Education

42k+
people, mostly women, have improved their reading skills thanks to our innovative training on mobile phones
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Economic Growth

1,991
villages have established their own community funds that help people save, invest, and grow
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Grassroots Democracy

110k+
people have learned about democracy and how to make decision-making equitable
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The Tostan Model

Our three-year nonformal education program puts rural communities in charge of their own futures. We help communities develop their own vision for development using an approach that is:
1

Human Rights-Based

Knowledge of human rights and responsibilities is the foundation for learning
2

Respectful & Inclusive

Information is shared in a non-judgmental way
3

Holistic & Sustainable

Program covers five key impact areas and has sustainability at its core
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Where We Work

We partner with communities in six countries in Africa.

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What’s New

Blog

Malian Communities Take Abandoning Harmful Practices Into Their Own Hands

In southwestern Mali, a small, but powerful movement is growing. 

In 2014, 40 Malian communities started Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP). Despite the fact that the CEP has not been completed, 27 of those communities have already decided to abandon female genital cutting (FGC). They will in turn join the ranks of the 61 communities in Mali who, since 2006, have also abandoned the practice.

Youth Voices: The Next Generation of Changemakers in West Africa

The latest film in our Breakthrough Generation series, "Youth Voices: The Next Generation of Changemakers in West Africa," follows young people who came together in December 2015, when 189 villages in the Tambacounda Region of Senegal publicly declared their intent to promote human rights and gender equality by ending female genital cutting, child/forced marriage, and gender-based violence.

Breakthrough Generation

International Day for the Abandonment of FGC: A Photo Essay

On this year’s International Day for the Abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC), Tostan partnered with the Senegalese government, UNFPA and UNICEF for an exciting day-long event celebrating progress made towards the abandonment of FGC—as well as those individuals who have done so much to bring about this breakthrough change for future generations. The day began with a panel discussion at the Tostan Training Center, and concluded with a ceremony hosted by the community of Keur Simbara.

Press Release by Senegal’s National Committee for the Abandonment of Female Genital Cutting: Announcing February 6th Event

2 February, 2016

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However Long the Night tells the story of Molly Melching and community-led social change in Africa
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You Can Help Create Generational Change in Three Years!

Sign-up to find out more about this ambitious campaign to transform millions of lives in West Africa.

Join today for the chance to win a copy of However Long the Night: Molly Melching’s Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph — the inspirational story of Tostan’s founder and an incredible movement for social change in Africa.